Directed by Alfred Hitchcock Starring Ingrid Bergman, Gregory Peck
Spellbound is a 1945 American psychological mystery thriller film noir directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It tells the story of the new head of a mental asylum who turns out not to be what he claims. The film stars Ingrid Bergman, Gregory Peck, Michael Chekhov and Leo G. Carroll. It is an adaptation by Angus MacPhail and Ben Hecht of the novel The House of Dr. Edwardes (1927) by Hilary Saint George Saunders and John Palmer.
Dr. Constance Petersen is a psychoanalyst at Green Manors, a therapeutic community mental hospital in Vermont. She is perceived by the other doctors as detached and emotionless. The director of the hospital, Dr. Murchison, is being forced into retirement, shortly after returning from an absence due to nervous exhaustion. His replacement is Dr. Anthony Edwardes, who turns out to be surprisingly young. Petersen is immediately smitten with Edwardes.
They fall in love. One day, while they’re kissing, however, Petersen notices that this Edwardes has a peculiar phobia about sets of parallel lines against a white background. She also soon realizes, by comparing handwriting, that this man is not the real Edwardes, but an impostor. He confides to her that he has killed the real Edwardes and has taken his place. He suffers from amnesia and does not know who he is. Petersen believes he is innocent and that he is suffering from a guilt complex. He disappears overnight, leaving a note for her. At the same time, it becomes public knowledge that the supposed Edwardes is an impostor, and that the real Edwardes is missing and may have been killed.
Cast
Ingrid Bergman as Dr. Constance Petersen
Gregory Peck as Dr. Anthony Edwardes / John Ballantyne
Michael Chekhov as Dr. Alexander “Alex” Brulov, a teacher of Dr. Petersen’s
Leo G. Carroll as Dr. Murchison, the head of Green Manors
Rhonda Fleming as Mary Carmichael, a patient at Green Manors
John Emery as Dr. Fleurot
Norman Lloyd as Mr. Garmes, a patient at Green Manors
Bill Goodwin as House Detective of the Empire State Hotel
Steven Geray as Dr. Graff
Donald Curtis as Harry, a staff member of Green Manors
Wallace Ford as Stranger in Empire State Hotel Lobby
Art Baker as Det. Lt. Cooley
Regis Toomey as Det. Sgt. Gillespie
Paul Harvey as Dr. Hanish